While competing laminate floor suppliers told FCW that tiles represent between 5 percent and 10 percent of their total offering, Walker at Faus said this sub-segment plays a crucial role for the company and accounts for more than half of its business.

“We specialize in slates and tumbled stone — looks that are expensive to achieve in real stone. These are floors whose installations alone cost more than our laminate. And we’ve been very successful doing that because of Multi-Direction Design, which is our exclusive patented technology,” she said.

The key to Multi-Direction Design, which was introduced in 2008, is taking the time to precisely design, print and ultimately cut laminated décor papers so that when any two planks are installed, half tiles portrayed on their edges will join to form a seamless whole, Walker explained. When used in conjunction with Faus’ tight-fitting Joint Guard locking system, the planks give the look of high-end stone patterns from plank-to-plank in all directions.

“We pay attention to a lot of small details when we’re producing. That’s how we achieve this unmatched level of realism. While others are focused on mass production and reducing prices, we’re producing something unique for the market,” she said.

Dealers agreed. “Faus tile patterns literally scatter out in all directions. You’re not aware of the constant rectangular look, where one plank stops and another begins — that’s been the problem with other laminate tiles,” said Bob Davison, president of Baltimore, Md.-based Allied Products.

Faus’ Masterpiece tile collection retails for more than $3 per square foot. “Our product is not the cheapest. It takes a bit of effort to sell. It takes a lot of time in training and riding along with reps. We have a product that justifies the cost. But if our partners can’t convey that story it doesn’t matter. The consumer can compare our sample with a competitor’s and not understand the difference,” Walker said.

Fortunately for Faus, its partners value the differentiation associated with this offering. “We have it down in our own offices. Their product is truly unique and able to capture the look of real stone and slate,” said Rick Johnson, floor covering department manager for Indiana-based Lensing Building Specialties.

With domestic production and warehousing, here in Calhoun, Faus is a dependable partner, according to David Burke, president of Michigan-based Radio Distributing. “They’re quiet. It’s normally me reaching out to contact them. But their laminate line is tremendous, particularly their tiles. And they’ve always addressed any issues to our satisfaction.”

Walker said she takes heed to not oversell Faus’ laminate tiles and instead positions them as another value-oriented alternative.

“We don’t want to bash LVT because a lot of our partners are very successful selling it and our laminates. We don’t want to take money out of their pockets,” she said